Lotte Giants infielder Sohn Ho-young led his team to its first win of the Lunar New Year's championship by banking on his crazy batting performance. Against the champion pitchers of the NPB Pacific League, Son garnered three hits and was named the MVP of the fielders. 

Son Ho-young started the game against the Softbank Hawks at the 2025 Miyazaki World Cup at Ivy Stadium in Miyazaki, Japan on the 26th, contributing to his team's 6-1 victory with three hits, two RBIs, one run and one strikeout from five times at bat. 

On the day, Lotte's starting lineup includes Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Yoo Kang-nam (designated hitter), Han Tae-yang (striker), and Information-geun (catcher). Lotte's starting pitcher was left-hander Kim Jin-wook. 

Son Ho-young faced opposing starting pitcher Jun Maeda in his first at-bat with two outs in the top of the first inning and struck out swinging. 

Both teams continued their 0-point streak through the third inning. Lotte starter Kim Jin-wook pitched three innings, allowing two hits, one strikeout, and two walks. 

It was Lotte that broke the tight balance first. Lotte scored the first run after Ko Seung-min's right-handed hit off the changed pitcher Kimura in the top of the fourth inning, followed by Son Ho-young's RBI double in the left field. Son Ho-young's hit seemed to go over the homer at the moment of the hit, but he fell right in front of the fence, leading to a double. 

With the changed pitcher Na Kyun-an hitting a tying home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, Lotte got a chance to score a run on the second base with no outs in the top of the fifth inning due to Han Tae-yang's right-handed hit and an opponent's wild pitch. With Bo Ji-geun striking out, Hwang continued his chances with an infield hit in front of the second base, with one out and runners on the first and third bases. And when Ko Seung-min hit a timely RBI single, he led by one point. Son entered the third batter's box with two outs and runners on the second base, and hit a hit to the right-handed side. However, the opposing right fielder's amazing throw to the home plate caused the runner Ko Seung-min to be tagged out of the home, which led to Son's additional RBI to fail. 메이저사이트

After a timely two-base hit by Na Seung-yeop in the top of the sixth inning, Lotte took a 4-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning with Son Ho-young's timely RBI single to left. Lotte immediately sealed its victory with Jang Doo-sung's two-run single to left. 

In his last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning, Son also hit a huge fly ball to the left field. As the opponent team's left fielder missed the ball in his glove that stretched out at the last minute, it was recorded as an outfield catch error, not a hit. Even if he recorded it as a hit, he did not have a big problem. 

Lotte Giants infielder Son Ho-young played in the soft bank game of the Lunar New Year tournament at Miyazaki Ivy Stadium in Japan on the 26th and contributed to the team's victory by hitting three hits and two RBIs. Lotte Giants

Lotte Giants infielder Son Ho-young played in the soft bank game of the Lunar New Year tournament at Miyazaki Ivy Stadium in Japan on the 26th and contributed to the team's victory by hitting three hits and two RBIs. Lotte Giants

Lotte Giants infielder Son Ho-young played in the soft bank game of the Lunar New Year tournament at Miyazaki Ivy Stadium in Japan on the 26th and contributed to the team's victory by hitting three hits and two RBIs. Lotte Giants

Manager Kim Tae-hyung praised Son Ho-young's performance, saying, "All the fielders showed their concentration. In particular, it was a game where Son Ho-young's performance stood out." 

Son Ho-young, whom I met after the game, said, "I try not to be conscious of the impact as it goes up and down, but the timing of the strike was good today. The opposing Japanese pitchers definitely did well. I tried to focus more on hitting because I was good at targeting my body, but it led to good results." 

In particular, the ball that came out of the second at-bat was a ball that felt like a home run the moment it was hit. However, NPB official balls were used for soft bank defense in the game. On the field, NPB official balls feel less repulsive than KBO league official balls, which is why diagnostic evaluations are being made. 

"I felt like my last hit at bat was a little bit successful, but I felt like I was going to pass the first hit because I thought it was a good hit," Son Ho-young said with a smile. "I didn't feel it when I was practicing with the NPB's official ball, but I don't know if the wind blew at that moment (laughs)." "The last hit was also recorded as an outfield error, which doesn't matter at all. This is a time when batting timing is better and mistakes are not needed rather than results." 

Son's biggest enemy is his own struggle and injury. If Son Ho-young spends a healthy full-time season, he will be able to complete his team's youngest and strongest lineup, which is dubbed as "Yoon (Dong-hee) or (Seung-yeop) Go (Seung-min), Hwang (Seong-bin) Son (Ho-young). 

Son Ho-young said, "You have to stop 'Yoon Na-go-hwang' from 'Yoon Na-go-hwang' to 'Yoon Na-go-hwang' (laughs). Everyone but me is doing well. I definitely have a desire to get a better result than last year," adding, "If I pay too much attention to my injury, I will not be able to play properly. First of all, I have to show 100 percent of my plays that I am good at. There is no point in not being able to play baseball while trying to save myself." 

Lotte is not considered the best five players in the 2025 season. Lotte players are also striving to overcome such prejudice and evaluation. 

Son Ho-young said, "Baseball is a sport in which the last place can win first place. Of course, we want to make it to the top five, and we can see the results after the season is over," adding, "The opening game is coming soon, so we will prepare well and show better-than-expected results to Lotte fans."